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I bought a 2021 Conquest with only 10 hours on it. Everything is great except that the deck lift is stuck in the full up position. Since I bought it used, B&S/Simplicity won't won't honor the warranty. The local dealer suggested it might have rusted up in storage, suggested I get it out on the bench and see what's what. By twisting the rod and/or tapping the end with a small hammer, I was able to get it free, but it still sticks at the fully extended position (up). I was going to devise some kind of stop to keep it from going to full extension, but it's locked up again, and I can't get it free. The motor runs, or tries to, but won't retract the rod.

i reached out to the actuator manufacturer, but they wouldn't/couldn't help because it's a proprietary part.

Any knowledge or suggestions to share? I'm not seeing any adjustments or stops, does anyone know of any? I'm going to take the actuator to the dealer on Monday, see if he's got any further ideas, and see what he gets for an actuator. I found one online using the simplicity part number for $795, which still means I got a good deal on the tractor, but I'd like to save some bucks if I can, and certainly don't want to repeat whatever caused the first one to fail.

I do not have my 2019 Conquest any longer but I remember a time when I took the deck completely off ( it's a beast ) and then reinstalled but in doing so I noticed I could accidentally get something in the linkage flipped. ( at the rear of the deck... don't remember more detail) but from what you describe I would suggest you take another look at the linkage and make sure it is correct. If the lift motor is working, then I suspect the linkage has a issue. Good luck.

I'll double check that when I put it all back together, but I think things are correct. I have the actuator out of it right now, and it's not moving at all. I've taken the cylinder part of it apart (spoiler alert, it's a hydraulic unit, not a nice clean screw driven one. today I refilled it with oil, and am trying to get all the air out. There are lots of U-tubes on how to fix the screw type, virtually noting on the hydraulic ones.